Teen’s taste for speed ends with a limp

PETALING JAYA: He started out on a basikal lajak which led him to a taste for speed.So last year at the age of 14, he went on a spin on his parents’ motorcycle without them knowing about it.

He ended up in an accident which caused a thigh injury. Now, he walks with a limp.

His aunt, who only wanted to be identified as Julia, said her nephew had started out on a modified bicycle, known as basikal lajak, as he had been influenced by his buddies.

“His friends, who were into these types of bikes, were not from his school. But he mingled with them, going out at night and spending time modifying their bikes to make them go faster on the road.

“His bike had no brakes. He modified everything on his own,” Julia, 22, who lives in Selangor, told Sunday Star.

After the motorcycle accident, her nephew got rid of the basikal lajak.

A resident from Kelantan, who gave his name only as Taufik, said he sold his brother’s mosquito bike to stop him from getting into illegal racing on the road.

“He bought the bike using his own money after he was influenced by his friends,” he said, adding that his brother would spend so much time with his friends.

“So I told my mother that we should sell the bike and give him the money,” he said.

Taufik said teenagers nowadays were more into mobile phones.

“Basikal lajak is a seasonal thing. These days, it’s hard to find teenagers riding these bikes in Kelantan – other states, maybe,” he said, adding that authorities should provide facilities for teenagers to indulge in their hobbies.